It was at the tender age of eight that Xiulan stood witness to her mother's murder. While popularly believed to be the act of an opposing family, Xiulan, having witnessed the exchange, knows for certain that it had far more to do with her mother being evolved then anything else. For as long as she could remember, her mother had been able to mix inks in just the right colors. Never once was it too bright, too pale, or so much as slightly off. With a breath, and touch of her hand, blue became red, red became blue and so on. Unfortunately, while the sight of her mother being gunned down in the street will stay with her forever, she cannot force herself to remember what, exactly, was said during the exchange.
It was not until months later, while watching her father agonising over the slowly vanishing inks, that Xiulan's own power manifested itself and she saw, for the first time, real fear reflected in her father's eyes. Fear for his daughter's safety, however, was overshadowed by the need for the perfect inks in the perfect colors. And so, despite her mother's fate, she turned her hand toward assisting her father. For nearly four years business went on usual. Until, that is, Xiulan discovered that not only could affect the color of ink, but flesh as well. While her father required needles and inks to perform his trade, Xiulan could adorn the flesh with a brush of her finger. Frightened and amazed, she experimented with this new found ability and discovered that it did not always require actual touch. Unfortunately, despite taking many precautions, whispers got out and, subsequently, threats were made.
Rather then risk his daughter meeting the same fate as his wife, Xiulan's father approached the head of the Fuyang Flying Dragon's and begged to be allowed to take his daughter to America. Fortunately, the local family head owed a debt of honor Chang Ye in New York and the pair were sent off, presumably to safety. It was during their 'escape' that it was discovered that the paperwork they had been given allowing them to leave China was fake. Realizing that without that paperwork, Xiulan attempted to, and successfully, used her power to craft fake documentation that was convincing enough to allow them to pass the security checks. Passports, even money were easily changed to represent what she needed. Unfortunately, the changes not of the flesh faded the moment they were out of Xiulan's sight. Even so, determined to keep her ability secret, her father made her swear to only use her abilities in secret and to keep the illusion of her art being completely mundane.
New York city, even Chinatown is a far cry from the Fuyang prefecture. And, for a girl who barely spoke any English at all, the distance was greater still. Fortunately, Xiulan and her father were sheltered under the protective wing of the Flying Dragons. While English came slowly to her, and not at all to her father, both seemed to take to their new home exceptionally well. Unlike China, the amount of freedoms now afforded them was nearly overwhelming and the lure of America commerce, impossible to resist. Still tradition was alive and well even amongst the New York Flying Dragons, a fact that brought with it a fair measure of comfort. Unfortunately, Xiulan found out in Jan. 2005 that it also brought an arranged marriage, a fact that, after being in America for so long, was far less comforting. Still, it was at least two years off and she had time to either find a way to change it, or accept it.
It was on On November 8th, 2006, at the tender age of 20, that Xiulan lost her father to the explosion in Kirby Plaza, Midtown, Manhattan. Fortunately, the Flying Dragons allowed her to step into his place, her future 'secured' both by her talent and her unknown ability that placed her head and shoulders above the competition. Better still was the fact that with the family's leadership currently up in the air, her arranged marriage seems to have been forgotten. For now, she intends to keep it that way, and do her level best to go on with her life as she has so far.